As I have said many times - my father was a great fan of Bill Dickey's and he certainly loved the Yankees. I hope that he would be pleased.
As I've always said, the way New Yorkers back us we have to produce for them.
But why shouldn't I speak out? Don't you speak out in this country?
Don't talk to me about aesthetics or tradition. Talk to me about what sells and what's good right now. And what the American people like is to think the underdog still has a chance.
He said he'd been with NBC Sports, and that he was with the Winfield Foundation.
He was the type of man who never worked for you. He was your father. I never went in and said, 'Dad, do this' or 'Do that.' I'd go in and say, 'Dad, what do you think about this? What can we do?' I really needed him.
I am dead set against free agency. It can ruin baseball.
I am tough. Sometimes I'm unreasonable. I have to catch myself every once in a while.
I don't agree with that, going halfway around the world at the beginning of the season. But it does a lot of good for baseball and for Bud Selig and that's OK with me.
I don't believe I gave Lou enough of a chance, OK? He was going to be a good manager, he is a good manager with Cincinnati, and he's a great person. But I think he learned from his experience with me, too. And I think he would tell you that.
I don't know much about Jose Canseco. I've heard the accusations that he used steroids, but I can't comment on that. He's awesome, though.
I don't think I ever could exceed my father's successes. He was a completely satisfied man, he knew what he wanted to accomplish and he accomplished it. I did do a lot, though, to try to please him.
I don't think that anybody should be suspended for life for anything, other than murder. How is it helping someone to say, 'You're done forever, your life's over'?
I don't want to be in the Hall of Fame. I don't think owners should be.
I don't want to rehash that. I liked Yogi very much, always did like him, will always like him.
I haven't always done a good job, and I haven't always been successful - but I know that I have tried.
I haven't always made the right decisions.
I hope that my father would have been proud of me, but you never know. I don't look back and think about how he would judge me. He was very happy when I bought the Yankees, and he very much enjoyed being a part of it.
I like Davey Johnson as a manager. He did great things for the Mets; he manages with his own style.
I like Rose as a person. He played with great passion. I think he made a tragic mistake. We all make mistakes. You forgive and you move on.
I like Tchaikovsky as much as the next guy, but in this area I think people would rather hear pops concerts, and good ones.
I loved Billy Martin. I thought Billy Martin would be a great manager. The one thing that hurt Billy Martin was personal habits.
I never called a manager in the dugout to dictate who should play or to say that he'd made a mistake.
I never should have let Reggie Jackson go; letting him get away was a bad deal. Someday, I'll speak about how that happened, but I don't want to right now. It was nothing between Reggie and me or Reggie and the ball club. It was an outside situation that occurred.
I still go to the office every day. I can't say that I have actually slowed down very much. I'm actually in the best shape that I have been in for a very long time.
I think about the next season right away.
I was never one for owning a TV network, per se. I didn't understand how big that would be. I'm not sure too many people did.
I was often misquoted. I was supportive of my managers, even though they all may not think so.
I wasn't smart enough to get into MIT, but I was a contributor and served on several committees there. They named a track after my father there.
I went through some tough times. I got suspended twice.
I will never have a heart attack. I give them.
I won't be active in the day-to-day operations of the club at all. I can't spread myself so thin. I've got enough headaches with my shipping company.
I'm really 95 percent Mr. Rogers, and only 5 percent Oscar the Grouch.'
I'm so respectful that President Reagan gave me a pardon. I had applied several times, and finally he did it. President Carter didn't see fit to, but President Reagan did.
I'm tired of 'informed sources'; I'm tired of 'sources close to the Yankees.'
I'm very happy. Satisfied, let's say.
If I was in Utopia? I don't know. I might for a while, until one of my sons was ready. It's time, though, for the young man to come on. The old man's tired.
If they have an owners Hall of Fame, I'll consider it, but believe me, I don't want to be in the Hall of Fame. I don't belong there.
In acquiring Alex Rodriguez, we are bringing to New York one of the premier players in the history of the game.
In sports, you've got to be truthful, you've got to face your performance. And the truth is, Reggie always delivered in the World Series. Mr. October. Dave didn't. That doesn't mean Dave is a bad guy. He just didn't deliver.
In the end, I'll put my good acts up against those of anybody in this country. Anybody.
Is it in the best interest of baseball to sell beer in the ninth inning? Probably not. The rule has got to be more clearly defined. And then some process should be set up where the judge is not also the appeals judge.
It sells newspapers when Steinbrenner fires Billy but not when Steinbrenner keeps Billy on his payroll for life, brings him back each time, tries to help him get himself going. I know that sometimes I make mistakes; I'm dead wrong. But then I go back and try to make it right.
It's too bad about Yogi. I like Yogi very much. Nice person. Fine person.
Let me ask you something Do you think Dave Winfield was liked by his teammates? You're nuts, if that's what you think.
Let me tell you what they don't know I didn't even stay. When they started the 'Steinbrenner sucks,' I said, 'Come on, let's go, let's get out of here.' I got in the car, went back into town and went to dinner. See how wrong they are? I didn't convene the coaches that night.
Let's not talk punishment.
My goal is not to run the team again. All I want to do is see the truth come out.
Nobody has won as many games as we have in the past seventeen years.
Of course, another question is why women's tennis and golf don't allow men in the locker room. They don't allow anybody in the locker room, because they don't want to be faced with that problem. I'd like to be the first male reporter who tries to get into the women's-tennis locker room.
Of course, expansion does water down your talent a little bit.
Once in a while, I played second base; once in a while, outfield. But those were just pickup games and softball leagues. So when I bought the Yankees, I tried to stay one pace ahead of the players.
Owning the Yankees is like owning the Mona Lisa.
People keep coming up to me and asking, 'How does it feel to be banned for life?' Banned for life. I wasn't banned for life. There was never a word of suspension, probation or ban in that agreement. It was never meant to be part of it.
Ruth was probably the greatest athlete to perform in any sport. Never has there been anybody like him.
So this is the reason I don't care when people write that I was picking on Dave. I wasn't picking on Dave the ballplayer, I was picking on Dave and his agent and a foundation where funds were, in my opinion, totally, seriously misused.
That's what you're in business for. You try to make a success.
That's why we created that special day for catchers. We wanted him to come back, but he didn't. I can't change that. He knows how I feel. I've sent numerous emissaries to him.
The spirit of the agreement was that it wasn't supposed to be a ban. But within ten minutes of the time we signed it, Fay Vincent said, 'It is a permanent suspension.' That's a lie! The man lied!
There are things that have never come out on Watergate that someday will come out.
They sat at a table in Montreal with me, and a top official - whom I won't name - said, 'You're making a mistake, because he'll always blame management and the front office. That's what he did here in Chicago.' He didn't leave his managing job in Philly under the best of terms, either.
This is what has to be understood: a lot of Yankees fans have spent big money supporting the Yankees, buying Yankee goods, and we don't get all that money.
We chose to go within our own organization, though I think Davey would certainly have to be high on anybody's candidate list.
We plan absentee ownership as far as running the Yankees is concerned.
We're not going to pretend we're something we aren't. I'll stick to building ships.
Well, things started to pop up that led me to believe that it wasn't being operated for the purpose that it was supposed to be to benefit kids in New York. We had reason to believe that the money was being spent in ways that were ludicrous by any standards of a charitable foundation.
What happened? My lawyers have that information. On their advice, I have never talked about it, and I don't intend to. Things were done, settlements were made, and that's all there is to it. I'm not going to talk about it.
When I was younger, I was a bit impatient and I made a few moves and decisions that in retrospect I shouldn't have made. But I have tried to go back and rectify those moves and mistakes.
When you're talking on the phone, you don't say every single word. I don't know what that conversation was. I said, 'I'll listen to what you've got to say.'
Winning is the most important thing in my life, after breathing. Breathing first, winning next.
You commit a crime when you make an illegal contribution. I was one of many. I won't even dwell on it. It was an old law, an antiquated law. I got some very poor advice. And that's all I'm going to say.
You shouldn't have any betting in the locker room at all, whether it's baseball or it's horses. You can't beat the horses. You can't beat any kind of gambling because they have the odds.
George is commonly known as "The Boss" because of his demanding personality. He is highly respected for this trait.
Steinbrenner was given a lifetime ban in baseball in 1990. The ban was later reduced to 3 years.
Steinbrenner has been with the Yankees since 1972.
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